The Art of Storytelling

I have always believed that history comes alive through stories.

Facts and dates tell us what happened. Stories help us understand the people behind those events-their courage, struggles, choices and humanity.

At JTC Experiences storytelling is the heart of what we do. Whether through art, literature, music, personal testimony or standing in the places where history unfolded, stories connect us to the past - and to one another.

This month, I have been thinking especially about storytelling through art.

In November, JTC will welcome my friend Michelle Browder to Westchester. Michelle is an artist, activist and extraordinary storyteller whose work has changed the way people understand the history of Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey—the enslaved women now recognized as the Mothers of Gynecology.

Michelle reminds us that art doesn't simply illustrate history. Art can reclaim history. It can challenge the stories we've been told and bring forward people whose voices have been missing.

That same idea runs through so much of what we are doing at JTC this fall.

We are telling stories through art with Michelle Browder.

We are telling stories through books with our Building Bridges Through Books group and our October 25 program with author Steven A. Holmes.

And in March, we will once again tell stories through place as we bring an intergenerational group to Alabama to walk through the history of the Civil Rights Movement.

Different forms of storytelling—but the same purpose: to help us see history through another person's eyes and perhaps see one another a little differently, too.

I hope you'll join us.

Abbe Marcus

Executive Director

JTC Experiences